President Yoweri Museveni and his son Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. [Reuters]
He has been in the limelight most of his father’s presidency, playing a prominent role and has never shied away from speaking his mind with pride.
A few days ago, Muhoozi Kainerugaba shared on his Twitter page, “The border is fully opening tomorrow. My uncle (President Kagame) and I achieved in 7 hours what all the diplomats on earth failed to achieve. I think we need a prize,”
He was referring to the reopening of the Rwanda-Uganda border.
Muhoozi is an ardent Twitter user who openly expressed his support for Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
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He takes credit for helping mend Uganda’s strained relations with her neighbour, Rwanda.
Muhoozi was born in Dar es Salaam on April 24, 1974, to Yoweri Museveni and Janet Museveni.
Being the President’s first and only son, Muhoozi attended schools in Tanzania, Kenya and Sweden.
He began recruiting students for the presidential guard as a fresh graduate.
This has on several occasions raised questions about whether his father was trying to build a political dynasty.
Muhoozi enjoyed a swift rise through Uganda’s army ranks, training at Britain’s elite military academy Sandhurst, as well as Egypt, the US and South Africa.
Nonetheless, Museveni still brushed off the speculation, despite Muhoozi’s colleagues attending junior military officers’ courses.
He was first promoted to brigadier and put in charge of Uganda’s all-powerful Special Forces Command, before his elevation to major general in 2016, at just 41 years old.
He was deployed in South Sudan and Somalia, playing, a prominent role in campaigns against Lord’s Resistance Army and the Allied Democratic Forces militia.
Muhoozi led Uganda’s land forces while also serving as a high-profile presidential adviser on special operations, a role that extends into the political sphere.
Unlike his father, who has ruled Uganda since 1986 and adores public attention, Muhoozi prefers to keep a low profile, occasionally appearing at sports events or rare gatherings with friends.
But the 47-year-old has not been shy about sharing his opinions on social media.
He has offered his views on everything, from Guinea’s coup last year to the brutal war in northern Ethiopia, praising Tigrayan rebels for their “unconquerable spirit.”
His controversial views which he largely expresses on Twitter have been defended by the military which exercises huge power in the country, saying that he was only exercising his personal rights.
Muhoozi is said to have been instrumental in the recent rapprochement between Uganda and Rwanda.
He is also rumoured to have played a key role in a joint operation last year by Ugandan and Congolese forces against the ADF in the eastern DR Congo.
His has been a meteoric rise through the ranks of the army to Lieutenant-General and Commander of Land Forces, the third-highest position in the military leadership.
This is a rare achievement for people of his age.
Muhoozi is a father of three who is married to Charlotte, a businesswoman.
Most Ugandans believe he could be next in line for the country’s top job, despite repeatedly insisting that he has no presidential ambitions.
“Uganda is not a monarchy where leadership is passed on from father to son,” he once said publicly.
